For two decades, little besides soldiers, refugees and rebels moved across Ethiopia and Eritrea's closed border, but today it teems with activity. Back in businessOnce a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea voted for independence in 1993 after a decadeslong struggle. A dispute over the border plunged the neighbors into war in 1998, leaving tens of thousands dead in two years of fighting. The conflict continued as a cold war after Ethiopia refused to honor a U.N.-backed commission verdict demarcating the border, a policy Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reversed in June. Eritrea's economy has underperformed since the war, while Ethiopia has grown at some of Africa's fastest rates, which hasn't escaped the notice of the visitors to the country.

Source: Ethiopian News October 14, 2018 21:05 UTC